According to participants in the Chicago Fed’s annual Automotive Outlook Symposium, the nation’s economic decline is forecasted to bottom out this year; solid economic growth is expected in 2010—with inflation staying contained but the unemployment rate remaining high. Light vehicle sales are predicted to fall sharply this year and then to improve in 2010.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held its sixteenth annual Automotive Outlook Symposium on June 4–5, 2009, at its Detroit Branch. More than 90 economists and analysts from business, academia and government attended the conference. This Chicago Fed Letter reviews last year’s forecasts for 2008, analyzes the forecasts for 2009 and 2010 and summarizes the presentations at this year’s conference.